Easter Bunny Runs Afoul of Grumpy Kitty

From my morning email, ''She's infringing on the religious rights of those who celebrate Easter. Ether way it will offend someone, and separation of church and state means the state don't get involved with people's religious rights which they are doing.''

The problem here dear reader is that the Easter Bunny is not a religious figure! He is more closely related to Bugs Bunny!

- Mike Corthell, Editor (and good friends with Peter Rabbit)

Reviews Mixed on Lakeview NeuroRehab

The lakeview neuro rehab in waterford…

The lakeview neuro rehab in waterford wisconsin neglicted and or abused my non verbal autistic son.. the day i pulled him from the facility i found him naked, alone, bruised all over and crying in an area where i had been refused access to see him for over 2 weeks! They smile and tell you everything is ok and he is doing well but then when i see him he is traumatized, bruised and beaten! this place may be ok for those who talk and are able to speak up for themselves, but if your loved one is unable to protect themselves, stay clear from this place! THIS PLACE IS NOT QUALIFIED TO TAKE CARE OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN AND THE SCHOOL (HILLSIDE) SCHOOL IS NOT capable of educating special needs kids.. if you care about your kid, stay clear of this place.

josiesnuffy, I am not making this up. i wish it did not happen.. and yes.. my kid was violent.. duh.. that is why he was there . to get help..it seems that you do not understand that as seen your comments and have a chronic lack empathy.. .

IF lakeview could not handle my boy and the situation, the best course of action would have been calling a meeting and letting mom know that the situation was more than lakeview could handle and help the family find a new placement, but no.. they choose to lock my kid in a room, and deny me access to him. Anyone locked in a small stinky room with a mattress on the floor, all day, everyday would be upset. it is like being in solitary confinement in jail!!! it seems that you all did not think i would find out because my child was non verbal and had no way to communicate! -- that seems to be the attitude of some at lakeview! . I filed a case with wisconsin department of Department of Children and Families .. the case is under investigation and i have pictures and documentation of the abuse..

the real shame is many if not most of the staff at lakeview (aides) are super nice and try very hard. there is no support system for them, no real training, no teamwork, etc.. basically if they try to help they are 'on their own' and many times they end up getting hurt because there is not enough properly trained back up for them .. The supervisors and ppl in charge are responsible for this giant FAIL!

My son is now getting the proper care at a place called chileda in la cross wisconsin. He is NO LONGER violent and he is going to school everyday and is one of the most requested kids that staff want to work with as everyone likes being around him now because he is HAPPY !!

when i took my son out of lakeview it had been about 2 weeks since i was allowed to see him (he is 12) i went up on the unit during school hours and no one was up there but him and staff.. i was told to leave when i insisted on seeing my son and they tried to bar me from seeing him.. when i saw his condition and how he was forced to live i took him home with me that day.

ON all my visits I was nothing but kind to the other kids, as they all said hi to me and spoke to me in the lunch room where i saw them all nearly everyday (which is strange that i could go into the lunchroom where all the other children , other than my child, but i was not allowed to the spot where my boy was the only one present which was his room on the 'closed' unit. which i was not allowed. -- the state of wisconsin dept of children, etc informed me lakeview had no right to ban a parent or other custodian from seeing their child and checking on their well being .. regardless of their location.

All i am saying .. for the love of god.. if you have an autistic child.. lakeview is not the place for them..find another placement!!!

The facility conditions are great and…

The facility conditions are great and most of the staff is friendly. Transfer is smooth. HOWEVER, when this hospital says your loved one no longer meets their criteria you better have a back-up b/c Lakeview will almost literally throw them into the next facility that will take them REGARDLESS of where.... They will back you into a corner by threatening to bill you for private payment for their stay and give you no other choice but to do what they want.

I gave them 2 stars simply b/c they made admissions easy, the place is clean, newly remodeled and the staff communicates in English (which was refreshing considering most facilities in our area lack in their communication skills). Overall, after our experience here, I cannot recommend them at this time.

http://www.yellowpages.com/waterford-wi/mip/lakeview-specialty-hosp-rehab-9105039 

Why Weirdos (Sometimes) Outperform Normals

Mike Corthell, Editor & Publisher

My kids think I’m Weird

I talk in weird voices. I come up with weird games. I listen to Phish.

I like when they call me weird.

Weird is good, I tell them. Normal is blah.

You don’t want to be blah. Blah is boring. Boring people are forgettable.

I like weirdos.

They are interesting. They have crazy ideas. They have passion.

Weirdos separate from the pack. Weirdos change the world. Weirdos lead. Weirdos make us think.

When did weird become so weird? Why does the Merriam-Webster dictionary define the word so negatively? (“a person who is extraordinarily strange or eccentric.”)

We should teach our kids to be weird. Weird like Gary Vaynerchuk.

I had the opportunity to spend this weekend with Gary and his immediate family – his wife, Lizzie, his daughter and his parents.

Gary once offered to pay my kids to be Jets fans.

He hasn’t missed a PLAY in a Jets game in 30 years.

He comes over and goes right for the Fritos. And walks around the house with them.

He texts me just to tell me that he loves me. That’s weird. And I love it.

Gary is one of my close friends now. Weirdos seek each other out. And we stick together once we find each other.

Being a weirdo has worked out well for Gary. He operated 7 lemonade stands by the time he was 8. He retired from lemonade retail at 10 and turned to baseball cards. He was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author by the time we was 35.

Gary launched an ecommerce store before you had ever heard such a thing existed. Gary helped invent online video thanks to a wine show that attracted 100,000 viewers a day.

1 million people follow Gary on Twitter and many more in real life.

Gary often appears on TV - Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN and NPR, just to name a few.

His latest company, social media agency VaynerMedia, has more than 200 employees and awesome clients, like Pepsi, Campbell Soup and others.

Gary thinks he’s going to buy the Jets one day. I won’t bet against him.

Most important to me ... my kids love Gary. Gary is weird. Weird is good.

Further down the weird spectrum is James Altucher.

The first time I met James, we had breakfast at the Red Flame diner in New York. He ordered French Fries and a vanilla milkshake.

That’s weird.

Not as weird, though, as James wanting his daughters to be lesbians and drug addicts.

James doesn’t attend weddings and is the only guy I know who has screwed Yasser Arafat out of $2 million, and then lost $100 million himself.

James has admitted he is guilty of torturing women.

When the president of Chile asked James if he would like to be run over by a tank, James said no thanks.

You’re probably thinking two things: (a) how am I friends with James; and (b) there is no way James could be successful.

James is one of the most successful and content people I know. I wish I spent more time with him.

He was a world-class champion chess player. He made a fortune in the hedge fund business. And he is a prolific investor and writer.

James was one of the first people I spoke to about Buddy Media. He had recently sold a startup of his own, Stockpickr, to TheStreet.com. I wanted him involved.

James invested. And made a lot of money. Most Normals would never have invested in an app company built on a college social network started by a husband and wife team whose most recent company was selling golf stuff.

I love James. James is weird. Weird is good.

Meet Peter Thiel. Peter is very, very weird.

I first met Peter at the former Clarium Capital office in New York. We were meeting at lunchtime. I walked into his beautiful office overlooking Central Park.

We sat at a round table right in front of his desk. Or at least I remember it being round but I could be wrong.

His staff set the table -- for one. The server brought out lunch for Peter. And then a drink. And didn’t offer me either.

I thought this was weird but was not even one bit annoyed. I was just happy to be talking to Peter. He's brilliant.

Peter studied 20 Century philosophy at Stanford. Normals don’t go to Stanford, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and study modern philosophy.

Like James, Peter is a wicked chess player, a national master, to be exact. What's with chess? I can't stand the game myself.

Peter pays kids not to go to college, invested in a company that bioprints meat for human consumption and thinks death is a problem that can be solved. But while we're alive, why not form independent ocean communities with their own laws and political system?

This all sounds weird, right? Maybe to all the Normals.

But remember ...

Facebook seemed like a pretty weird idea when Peter made the first outside investment in the company, netting him close to half a billion dollars in gains.

Paypal seemed like an even weirder idea when Peter founded the company, which was eventually sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.

Buddy Media was just weird enough for Peter to invest personally.

Speaking of which, I just saw Peter earlier this month in Austin at SXSW. He barely recognized me, which is cool because we haven't spent that much time together.

Come to think of it, he still hasn’t said congrats or thank you for the amazing outcome. Only in Silicon Valley, the home of weird, can you make someone a few million dollars in less than 5 years and not even receive a simple thank you.

If someone made me a few million bucks, I’d donate $100,000 to their favorite charity. Or name my next born after them (as long as their name wasn’t Herbert or something like that). Or maybe write a thank you note, at a minimum. Actually, I'd probably just send a text. But maybe I'm not weird enough.

Am I upset? No. Because I understand where Peter comes from. He’s a weirdo. Very smart weirdo. I love him for it and we need more Peter Thiels.

Gary, James, Peter, Cindy and other weirdos I know share a few common traits that propel them to reach their full potential.

Weirdos see the world as a blank slate for them to paint their masterpiece. Forget marching to their own drums. They make up their own instruments. Forget thinking outside the box. They don’t see boxes. They see circles and horizons and trapazoids.

Weirdos don’t see anything as impossible. Anything is possible. Just give us enough time.

Weirdos are contrarians. They think differently and act even more differently. Normals try to fit in. Weirdos stick out without really trying.

Weirdos aren’t driven by money. Money is a destination. Weirdos are all about the journey.

Weirdos don’t care what others think. They only care THAT they think and want to change HOW they think.

Weirdos come in all shapes and sizes, colors and countries. And they're not new to the tech industry, or industry in general.

Weirdos thought it made sense to get on the Mayflower from England to settle in a new land.

Weirdos thought we should get rid of slavery.

Weirdos insisted that women should also have a vote.

The world would suck if it weren’t for weirdos.

Instead of trying to get our kids to fit in, we should help them celebrate why they are different.

Let’s start to teach kids to embrace weird. Weird is good.

And let’s not stop until weird is normal.

Michael Lazerow

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar after Christmas and Easter. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week of events leading up to Jesus' death. 

The History of Palm Sunday
The celebration of Palm Sunday originated in the Jerusalem Church, around the late fourth century. The early Palm Sunday ceremony consisted of prayers, hymns, and sermons recited by the clergy while the people walked to various holy sites throughout the city. At the final site, the place where Christ ascended into heaven, the clergy would read from the gospels concerning the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. In the early evening they would return to the city reciting: "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." The children would carry palm and olive branches as the people returned through the city back to the church, where they would hold evening services.
By the fifth century, the Palm Sunday celebration had spread as far as Constantinople. Changes made in the sixth and seventh centuries resulted in two new Palm Sunday traditions - the ritual blessing of the palms, and a morning procession instead of an evening one. Adopted by the Western Church in the eighth century, the celebration received the name "Dominica in Palmis," or "Palm Sunday".
The Meaning of Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The gospels record the arrival of Jesus riding into the city on a donkey, while the crowds spread their cloaks and palm branches on the street and shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" to honor him as their long-awaited Messiah and King.The significance of Jesus riding a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches is a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9). In biblical times, the regional custom called for kings and nobles arriving in procession to ride on the back of a donkey. The donkey was a symbol of peace; those who rode upon them proclaimed peaceful intentions. The laying of palm branches indicated that the king or dignitary was arriving in victory or triumph.
Palm Sunday in Modern Times
Today, Palm Sunday traditions are much the same as they have been since the tenth century. The ceremony begins with the blessing of the palms. The procession follows, then Mass is celebrated, wherein the Passion and the Benediction are sung. Afterwards, many people take the palms home and place them in houses, barns, and fields.
In some countries, palms are placed on the graves of the departed. In colder northern climates, where palm trees are not found, branches of yew, willow, and sallow trees are used. The palms blessed in the ceremony are burned at the end of the day. The ashes are then preserved for next year's Ash Wednesday celebration.
In the simplest of terms, Palm Sunday is an occasion for reflecting on the final week of Jesus' life. It is a time for Christians to prepare their hearts for the agony of His Passion and the joy of His Resurrection. 

Barack H.Obama: 'Hand-Picked' Long Before the Vote

Vladimir Putin and Barack H. Obama

Man recounts startling tale of first time he heard of Barack Obama
—21 years ago in Russia

  By Tom Fife

During the period of roughly February 1992 to mid-1994, I was making frequent trips to Moscow in the process of starting a software development, joint-venture company with some people from the Russian scientific community.

One of the men in charge on the Russian side was named V. M.; he had a wife named T.M. V. was a levelheaded scientist, while his wife was rather deeply committed to the losing communist cause.

Early in 1992, the American half of our venture was invited to V. & T.’s Moscow flat as we were about to return to the States. As the evening wore on, T. developed a decidedly rough anti-American edge—one her husband tried to quietly rein in.

The bottom line of the tirade she started against the United States went something like this:

 “You Americans always like to think that you have the perfect government and your people are always so perfect. Well then, why haven’t you had a woman president by now? You had a chance to vote for a woman vice president and you didn’t do it.”

The general response went along the lines that you don’t vote for someone just because of their sex. Besides, you don’t vote for vice president, but the president and vice president as a ticket.

“Well, I think you are going to be surprised when you get a black president very soon,” she said. The consensus we expressed was that we didn’t think there was anything innately barring that. The right person at the right time and sure, America would try to vote for the right person, be he or she, black or not.

“What if I told you that you will have a black president very soon and he will be a communist?” she said. “Well, you will; and he will be a communist.”

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Most Americans, [Michelle Obama] said, don't want much. 

"They don't want the whole pie," she told the women. "There are some who do, but most Americans feel blessed just being able to thrive a little bit. But that is becoming even more out of reach." 

After law school, she and Barack were beset by loans they'd still be paying had her husband not written two best-sellers, "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams From My Father." 

Those debts early in their marriage, she said, equips her husband to better understand the problems many Americans face. 

Should she become first lady, she said she'd focus on family issues. 

"If we don't wake up as a nation with a new kind of leadership...for how we want this country to work, then we won't get universal health care," she said. 

"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more."

Sounds like a very Communist way of looking at things, and if we look at President Obama's record today, his Communist Agenda sticks out like a a red flag (pardon the pun) 

- Mike Corthell, Editor & Publisher

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One of us asked, “It sounds like you know something we don’t know.”

“Yes, it is true,” she replied. “This is not some idle talk. He is already born, and he is educated and being groomed to be president right now. You will be impressed to know that he has gone to the best schools of presidents. He is what you call ‘Ivy League.’ You don’t believe me, but he is real and I even know his name. His name is Barack. His mother is white and American and his father is black from Africa. That’s right, a chocolate baby! And he’s going to be president.”

She became more and more smug as she presented her stream of detailed knowledge and predictions so matter-of-factly—as though all were foregone conclusions.

“It’s all been thought out. His father is not an American black, so he won’t have that social slave stigma. He is intelligent and he is half white and has been raised from the cradle to be an atheist and a communist. He’s gone to the finest schools. He is being guided every step of the way and he will be irresistible to America.”

She was obviously happy that the communists were doing this and that it would somehow be a thumbing of their collective noses at America: They would give us a black president and he’d be a communist to boot. She made it obvious that she thought that this was going to breathe new life into world communism. She always asserted that communism was far from dead. She was full of details about him that she was eager to relate.

She rattled off a complete litany. He was from  Hawaii. He went to school in California. He lived in Chicago. He was soon to be elected to the legislature. “Have no doubt: he is one of us, a Soviet.”

Since I had dabbled in languages, I knew a smattering of Arabic. I commented: “If I remember correctly, ‘Barack’ comes from the Arabic word for ‘blessing.’ That seems to be an odd name for an American.” She
replied quickly, “Yes. It is ‘African,’’’ she insisted, “and he will be a blessing for world communism. We will regain our strength and become the No. 1 power in the world.”

She said something to the effect that America was at the same time the great hope and the great obstacle for communism. America would have to be converted to communism, and Barack was going to pave the way.

So, what does this conversation from 1992 prove? Well, it’s definitely anecdotal. It doesn’t prove that Obama has had Soviet communist training nor that he was groomed to be the first black American president, but it does show one thing that I think is important. It shows that Soviet Russian communists knew of Barack from a very early date. It also shows that they truly believed among themselves that he was raised and groomed communist to pave the way for their future.

This report on Barack came personally to me from one of them long before America knew he existed. Although I had never before heard of him, at the time of this conversation Obama was 30-plus years old and was obviously tested enough that he was their anticipated rising star.

_______________________________________________________________________

Who is Tom Fife?

Tom Fife was a government contractor with an active security clearance who took notes on his trips for Defense Intelligence Agency debriefings within the Department of Defense. In 1992, following an astounding conversation at a dinner party in Moscow, he took down notes for future reference. It was long before the world ever heard the name “Barack Obama.”

Students of revisionist history will remember that Bill Clinton disappeared from Oxford University in England for a while in 1970 and surfaced in Moscow (courtesy of the CIA) purportedly to be trained in communism. When the accompanying story first appeared, we could not locate its source for confirmation and cast it off as a probable Internet fairy tale. But we have since interviewed Tom Fife, blended the information with the many accusations of high-profile politicos (such as former UN Ambassador Alan Keyes) and witnessed the communistic behavior of the White House occupant, and we have no of doubt the authenticity of this amazing piece. —Ed.

Lot's of Info: Western Maine Active Communities Conference

Mike Corthell, Editor & Publisher

2013 Western Maine Active Communities Conference

SOUTH PARIS, Maine - March 22, 2013 -  A large group of people, interested in changing their communities for the better, gathered at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School yesterday. About a dozen presenters informed the group on topics ranging from 'Way Finding' to Community Advocacy. 

Participants were thanked for attending this important conference. It was hoped that the attendees learned more about how they can be part of changing their respective communities and help them to become active communities. They were told that making these positive changes can yield great benefits not only to public health, but also to the nature of their cities and towns.

The Conference Planning Team is very appreciative of the following organizations and business sponsors for their support:

• Poland Spring
• Hannaford
• Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School
• Oxford County Active Community Environments Team
• Community Transformation Grant Program
• Healthy Oxford Hills, a Project of Stephens Memorial Hospital
• Oxford County Wellness Collaborative
• Bingham Foundation
• Western Distric CTG Program

 MORE INFORMATION

Council on American–Islamic Relations Intervenes in School Bullying Case

CAIR DEFENDS TALIBAN, HAMAS AGAINST BULLYING CHARGE

Teacher accused of being 'racist' for citing terrorist groups

Mike Corthell, Editor

It’s become mandatory for public school teachers to discuss bullying with students, but when Mary Janda offered a couple of examples of world-class bullies, she drew the ire of a national organization that is now calling for a federal investigation.

Janda, who has taught for 21 years at Concrete Middle School in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Western Washington state, pointed to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and the Taliban as organizations that use violence to “bully people.”

A student whose father is a Muslim was offended by her illustration, and now the notorious Council on American-Islamic Relations has intervened.

Ironically, although CAIR often is called upon as a defender of civil rights, the Justice Department says the organization was formed by members of Hamas in 1993 to put a friendly face on the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. In 2007, federal prosecutors named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in a plot to fund Hamas.

The Oct. 29 classroom incident in Concrete, Wash., came to light a month later when the district received a letter from CAIR. The district said the student and her parents never filed a complaint directly with school officials.

Last month, CAIR’s Washington state branch called for a federal investigation, alleging Janda made “racist” remarks about Muslims, KOMO-TV in Seattle reported.

CAIR called on the Department of Justice to step in, KOMO said, charging the Concrete School District didn’t do enough to investigate the comments.

CAIR-Washington announced March 6 that it was going ahead with its own investigation to see if Janda’s alleged offense was “part of a larger pattern of biased education.”

CAIR submitted a public records request to the Concrete School District for information “regarding curriculum, approved texts and materials, internal correspondence, and past complaints against the district.”

“Often one complaint is indicative of a larger pattern of biased education,” said CAIR-Washington’s civil rights coordinator, Jennifer Gist, in a statement. “We are requesting public records from the district to review their materials and past complaints, in an effort to analyze the quality of equal education it affords its students.”

‘We’re not a bunch of racists’

The school district stands behind Janda, calling CAIR’s charge “false information” that was taken out of context. Janda issued a statement explaining that in her Oct. 29 presentation, she was “not talking about Muslims and Arabs in general.”

Janda said she was surprised CAIR filed a complaint without contacting her to get her account of the class discussion.

She said the discussion led to a reference to “some members of groups who employ extreme acts such as Hamas and the Taliban.” Her point, she said, was that people “who intend on imposing their will on others are bullies, whether they be Nazis or others.”

“I was not talking about Muslim believers or Arabs in general but people that were trained to kill.” she said.

“This discussion is not about religious beliefs,” Janda explained. “It is related to a state mandate that public schools teach students about bullying and not allow it.”

Supporters of Janda in Concrete have acquired the legal help of the non-profit group ACT! For America, founded by Brigitte Gabriel, reported Examiner.com blogger Christopher Collins.

Gabriel, a Lebanon-born activist who suffered injury as victim of an Islamic militant attack as a child, said CAIR saw Janda’s remarks “as an opportunity to further its faulty, cynical narrative that Muslims across America are regular victims of discrimination and civil rights abuses.”

She said “a veteran teacher with an exemplary record, who stated something that is factual and provable, is under attack – her good name smeared so that CAIR-Washington can advance its political agenda.”

KOMO interviewed a resident of the town of 700 who defended Janda.

“The kids that I know who’ve gone to the teacher have had no problems,” said Tabithia Hicks. “The teacher was well-liked, well-respected, and to hear this from this, I’m like, wait, this isn’t what we need here in Concrete. We’re not a bunch of racists.”

‘Media twinkle’ on jihad

The Justice Department tied CAIR to its terror-finance case against the Richardson, Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, which was convicted of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas.

FBI wiretap evidence from the Holy Land case showed CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad was at an October 1993 meeting of Hamas leaders and activists in Philadelphia. CAIR, according to the evidence, was born out of a need to give a “media twinkle” to the Muslim leaders’ agenda of supporting violent jihad abroad while slowly institutionalizing Islamic law in the U.S.

As WND reported in 2010, a federal judge later determined that the Justice Department provided “ample evidence” to designate CAIR as an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator, affirming the Muslim group has been involved in “a conspiracy to support Hamas.”

The judge did not dispute “press accounts and blog entries” that “CAIR is a criminal organization that supports terrorism,” according to the ruling.

More than a dozen CAIR leaders have been charged or convicted of terrorism-related crimes.

Creating Healthy Small Town Economies by Mike Corthell

According to my research the most successful rural communities in America have implemented several of these best practices:

They have created networks to support entrepreneurs and micro business development

Economic development is most successful when you deversify and don't invest money and hope in just one large employer. Communities can withstand economic upheavals better when there are many small and micro businesses. If one or several do not survive, there are still employment opportunities. These businesses will continue to contribute to the local economy in contrast to one major employer closing. To support entrepreneurs, some communities have entrepreneurial gatherings like after hours to share resources and ideas.

They think local and support local business first

Simply stated our local businesses cannot survive if we do not support them. When you support local businesses first your money stays in the local economy. It circulates throughout your community and creates jobs. A healthy community has a strong 'Buy Local' economy.

They grow and retain local businesses

It is always more cost effective to retain a business already in your community rather than recruiting new businesses. Utilizing an existing organization like a chamber or business association, is a proven way to retain or expand local businesses and it is often the best resource for creating local jobs. A business retention and expansion program that utilizes local volunteers to connect businesses to resources can help with planning, marketing, financing, and other needs required for entrepreneurial success.

They help start new businesses

Every community has people who come forward with great ideas but they may not have resources and training to get a business a new business off the ground. Connecting these people to resources or programs is a very good way to grow the local economy. They inturn will sell products and provide services that create jobs and support the local economy.

They develop downtown revitalization programs

A prosperous, healthy downtown boosts the economy and quality of life in a community. Specifically, a healthy downtown creates jobs, and is a symbol of community pride and history. There are many approaches to revitalization, including the Main Street Approach which was developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and focuses on four areas: organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring. Most rural communities in America have expanded from a historic, small downtown core. In many towns, Main Street is still the heart and soul of the community.

They have organized farmers markets and community supported agriculture

A farmers market provides residents with fresh local products as an alternative to traditional supermarkets. By supporting local farmers consumers know what they are buying and where it comes from, And it keeps money in the local economy. Many farmers markets become large community events, where families come out, listen to live entertainment - which also helps build social structure within the community.

They have developed visitor amenities and tourism

The travel industry is often a large economic contributor to rural communities. It can bring in twice as much income to rural areas as compared with urban areas. Many of the tourism businesses are sole-proprietors, which illustrates that the tourism industry supports entrepreneurs.  Rural tourism promotes responsible travel by providing visitor services and attractions that generate local revenue while preserving cultural heritage.

It is important to remember that boosting a local economy takes time. If your community implements some or all of these best practices you won't see over-night success but in time a new prosperity will take root, grow and thrive. It takes time and commitment from citizens, community leaders, volunteers and existing businesses to see these best practices take hold and become part of the community fabric. It can be done and is being done - across America. It is one of the things our country does best – creates healthy businesses.  

Award winning play 'Private Lives' Thursday March 21 - 7 pm

Cast of 'Private Lives' 

Fryeburg Academy presents the final performance of their award winning one-act play, Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” directed by Tatiana Zaharova at the Leura Eastman Performing Arts Center, located at 18 Bradley Street on the campus of Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine, Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m. Come and support the cast and crew who will be competing in the state championships this coming weekend!

AGENDA 21: Evil is as Evil Does

MIKE CORTHELL: U.N. AGENDA 21 IS BAD FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD

The U.N. Action Plan, Agenda 21 is like a 'Trojan Horse (The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war.)

Agenda 21 a plan to inventory, control resources, people

Unfortunately I have limited space to comment on all of the negative aspects of the United Nation's action plan - Agenda 21 and Mr. Joe Killer's support of the same. His letter didn't actually state what his pro Agenda 21 stance was but rather he proceeded to claim he was not naïve (I believe he is) or a 'socialist/communist/left winger (he's probably just a common liberal). He gave us a clue to his political leanings by using the childish 'taunt word' 'FauxNews'. Black Helicopters and chem trails were also very good.

Almost everyone has heard of Al Gore's theory of global warming, currently known as global climate change, which is at the heart of the Agenda 21 program. Agenda 21 is socialist in it's conception and it's execution. Sustainability, smart growth, carbon footprint and green corridors are some of the buzz words. Agenda 21 is being implemented through the executive branch our national government and on a 'voluntary' (free dollars are the main enticement) basis by many states, counties and municipalities.  Do you like the term 'social justice', then I bet you'll just love 'environmental justice'.

I would encourage everyone to do some of your own research. Google 'U.N. Agenda 21', and go to democratsagainstunagenda21.com. Agenda 21 is an action plan to inventory and control all land, all water, all minerals, all plants, all animals, all construction, all means of production, all energy, all education, all information, and all human beings on this planet.

A not so small arm of this movement is Food and Water Watch, a national organization. They do have an office in Portland, Maine.  Nisha Swinton is the local organizer there. And just so you know, she was at the Fryeburg American Legion Hall just last week supporting the anti-Nestle crowd. I heard her say, when she was asked to speak, “I won't speak at this time – I'll have plenty to say in the future.'' So, friends and neighbors, Agenda 21 is here – in our back yard. They want to tell us how to manage our resources right now. What will they tell us to do in the future? Will they tell us to re-write the Bill of Rights? Or will we be told we need a new, green constitution? Think about it and do some research. Evil can only flourish when good people watch and do nothing.

Mike Corthell

Fryeburg, Maine

603.986.8110

This letter appeared in the March 19, 2013 edition of The Conway Daily Sun as a letter to the editor.